


Shut Down

by Jupiterra



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Canon Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 02:20:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17458748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jupiterra/pseuds/Jupiterra
Summary: Alfred seeks comfort during a government shut down.





	Shut Down

It was day twenty four of the American government shut down, and a certain sunny Alfred had been missing for four days. It was up to his dear sibling to investigate.

Alfred wasn't answering his phone. He wasn't home. There wasn't even any lights on. Matthew paced on the veranda a little, deeply concerned. Despite it being winter, he only had a light jacket on. American winters were a joke in comparison to his partially frozen homeland. The Canadian finally decided to try the door bell, knowing how loud and patriotic it was. Why Alfred chose “Party in The USA” as his door bell noise was a mystery.

A tentative press of the door bell only resulted in silence. Was the door bell broken? Matthew pressed against the window, peering in for tell-tale lights from appliances or stereo systems. His brother had quite the set up for blasting classic rock, to the bane of his government worker neighbours.

The most odd of discoveries was made as Matthew peered to the pure dark interior. The window was the same temperature as the outside. Was the heat not on? Curious, Matthew climbed the wooden fence to Alfred's back yard with ease. He tried the water hose, but no water came out. He even tried crumpling the hose to break up ice and free some liquid. There was no ice at all inside.

Alfred might have had the forethought to have his outside water shut off. Matthew doubted this greatly. The slightly younger brother was forgetful at the best of times. It was more likely there was no water to give. No heat. No electricity. No water.

None of this was pleasant to learn, but not surprising. Alfred much like the rest of the government had not been paid for 24 days, or given his Christmas holiday bonus. This emergency was much more dangerous for living nation representatives like wheaten blonde Matthew. Alfred, like all nations, ate an inhuman amount of food to live. All the representatives did.

The only logical deduction from all of this was that Alfred had simply fled his home to find life sustaining food and employment. Where did a hungry short sighted American _go_? An idea came to mind instantly. Matthew dialed his Papa's number after checking the time, making sure it wasn't a rude shift in time zones. The Frenchman was quick to pick up.

“Hello?” France answered in sing song french, friendly as always.

“Papa. Have you seen Alfred?” Francis may not be one of Alfred's most favourite relatives. The old nation was easily one of the best chefs though, in Matthew's mind. It was easy to imagine a hungry Alfred setting up camp in Papa's kitchen.

“No, I assumed he was dealing with his messes right now.” The distant parent replied, with absolutely no concern.

An anxious little noise leaked out of the Canadian. “No, no... Do you think he went to Japan, or... Germany maybe?”

“Ah my snowflake, why are you so concerned? America is very independent. He can take care of himself.”

These words were far from soothing. Staring at the cold dead house, Matthew could only worry further. He needed to find his brother. They were they only ones keeping North America in check. Without Alfred as his symbiotic trading partner and southern guardian, the northern nation wasn't really sure how to function. Worse yet, the vanguard of invaders would conquer a fallen USA one state at a time until it was just a churning sea of bloody bitch fights. Such an insane thought made the freckled Canadian shudder.

He needed to find Alfred. “Papa, I need to find him. My economy barely works without him.”

A chuckle, then the sigh of an amused parent. “My dear, You'll be okay. You have so many friends. Besides, the fool is probably doing what we all do when our governments collapse.”

“What?” Matthew asked, eager to know. It was true, he was not the oldest nation. There was a scant few things he didn't know yet despite all his experience.

The answer was unexpected. “He's with his sugar daddy.”

“His... his what?” Matthew gasped, “He wouldn't... He's _America_. He doesn't have a patron.”

“He does. Everyone has a price.”

Politely ending the conversation, Matthew realized something with dread. He knew where Alfred was, if he was indeed with his 'sugar daddy'.

00000

The snow was thick, up to his knee. Despite having last visited four years ago, Matthew always got lost. After all, it was quite hard to find Russia's vacation cottage. Shaking off a fluffy mantle of snow, Matthew lowered his fur lined hood and took a deep breath. With three sharp knocks, he braced himself for all types of shenanigans.

The representative of Russia answered the door, slightly taller and build like a wall. The pale man gave a smirk. “Canadia. I'm surprised you visit me.” His accent thicker than his ego, not surprising.

“Who is it babe?” Alfred chirped, tucking himself under Ivan's sweater clad arm. Russia damn near purred from the interaction, despite the oddity of it all. This was because Alfred was dressed in a fuzzy cat costume. It was complete with pink kitty ears and a leather collar. A tag engraved “Property of Ivan” jingled off the large collar ring.

Matthew faltered a second. This was a bit much, not that he needed to talk. He was pulled inside by his super strong brother and plunked in a chair. Alfred spoke like a spitfire. “Hey bro! It's been a month! Whats going on? Oh have you eaten Ivan's gingerbread cookies? They are just the best. Hold on I'll get some, I gotta tell you. Mmm, so good, and we went skiing in the hills yesterday which was super. I took some pictures, and –”

“Alfred. You have to come home, or at least answer your phone.” Matthew stated evenly.

At this, Alfred's path to the kitchen stopped as he slouched. It was a common symptom of depression, if the only one he showed. “I... I can't. It's too stressful.” he muttered after a moment, looking over his shoulder with a sad expression.

“My kitty is not allowed to be sad.” Ivan announced rather suddenly, tossing Alfred over a shoulder with ease.

Alfred now dumped on a couch opposite Matthew, a steaming fresh tray of cookies was set to cool before him. He didn't wait a second, grabbing one. “Ow!” Matthew had no words as Russia fed the all powerful USA milk and cookies in ritualistic fashion. The strange Russian songs that carried an eerie quality didn't help. All the while, Alfred talked in spurts. Crumbs were going everywhere.

“... So I was really stressed out, and Ivan offered to help. He said he'd take care of me until things calmed down. Isn't that generous? You're so damn generous. I mean, there was conditions. But the sex is great so I don't see anything wrong with it.”

Ivan's own grunt of a response summarized things neatly. “He belongs to me now.” An arm was gently yet possessively wrapped around an oblivious Alfred as he snacked.

“I'm glad your okay.” Matthew replied honestly, not sure what else he could say. What should he say at all to anyone that would make this better? It was a publicity disaster waiting to happen, and Matthew wanted nothing to do with it.

Swallowing, Matthew stood and straightened out his coat. “When your ready to come back, I have a spare room at my house. Weed is legalized there, so we could light up and play Mario Kart like we used to. Just... come back okay?”

“I'm... not ready.” Alfred mumbled, staring into the depths of his glass of milk for answers. He then glanced up shyly. “But... when I am, I'll come by first.”

“That's all I ask. I'm sorry, but I have to leave. I'm on work hours right now.” 

It was Alfred who finally gave an obnoxious laugh and a bright smile. “I'd hug you goodbye, but we did some crazy stuff to this cat costume earlier and, well... _hygiene_.”

Too much information! Matthew retreated to the cottage door in alarm. Oh god, had they done anything kinky in that chair? The wheaten blonde had sat in it for at least a minute. “Okay, take care of yourself Alfie.” With that, Matthew fled the scene. The Canadian could only hope the tumultuous sea of modern day politics would calm and resume its routine ebb and flow.


End file.
